A BRITISH expat trying to find help for a compatriot who may have Alzheimer’s found himself with nowhere to turn as his friend’s condition worsened to the point where he was endangering his own life.
Bob Hicks who lives in the Amathus area of Limassol told the Sunday Mail of the months of frustration as 67-year old Ronnie Parramore, a former ships electrician neglected to eat, tried to buy a beer with his £1,000 pension cheque, was mugged and hospitalised and lived in a park for a week before being found accidentally
More recently Ronnie was found wandering aimlessly on the highway. “When this happened we realised that he wasn’t going to survive much longer,” said Hicks.
Hicks and his wife Rebecca have now managed to find a place in an old people’s home in Limassol for Ronnie but the problems are far from solved, and he is angry over the fact that no one seems to want to take responsibility.
Hicks said Ronnie’s local bank had even suggested closing his account due to his mental incapacitation, which would mean his old-age pension could not be sent to Cyprus to pay for the home.
Hicks is also disappointed in the way Ronnie has been treated by the Welfare Department. He said all they had done was “offer advice”. The first time they suggested Ronnie be taken back to the UK and put in a home there. And the second time they suggested someone be hired to clean and cook for a few hours a day. He also expected the British High Commission to have done more.
Asked about Ronnnie’s case, the Welfare official who visited Ronnie referred the Sunday Mail to his superior. He said he had no authority to talk to the press. His superior however could not be reached but another official said in a case like Ronnie’s, the Welfare Department could “only offer advice”.
A spokesman for the British High Commission said they had dealt with a number of issues related to Ronnie. The latest help offered was to try and persuade Ronnie’s bank not to close his account so that his pension could continue to come through to Cyprus. “We ourselves are not in a position to take over power of attorney,” said the spokesman. He said that as an EU citizen Ronnie is entitled to receive the same services as Cypriots. “And he has been a resident here for 15 years,” he added. The spokesman said that because he has been out of the UK for a long time Ronnnie may have no national insurance in Britain. “We have a consular duty to do what we can to assist but the responsibility lies with the Cypriot authorities,” said the spokesman. “We have been involved and we will continue to be involved.”
